The Myth of Nazareth: The Invented Town of Jesus (61 page)
Read The Myth of Nazareth: The Invented Town of Jesus Online
Authors: Rene Salm
41:18 shard "with a short fold on the inside of its rim"
Byzantine to early Islamic No ref. given
41:19 shard of "a very short cup-shaped rim." II CE–V CE No ref. given
41:20 rim of Gaza Ware jar. Ottoman period No ref. given
41:21 shard of storage jar. III CE–early V CE No ref. given
41:22
"probably
the neck and shoulder of a storage
jar" I CE-III CE
Uncertain.
No ref. given
41:23 rim, neck, and handle of Gaza Ware jars or jugs
Ottoman period No ref. given
41:25
"appears
to belong to a vessel of the early to
the late Roman period." I CE–III CE No ref. given
41:26 & 27 handles of storage jars
"tentatively
dated" I CE–III CE
Uncertain.
No ref. given
41:28 storage jar handle. "Early Roman to Early Byzantine" No ref. given
41:29,30 storage jar handles,
"evidently"
I CE–III CE
Uncertain.
No ref. given
41:32 strap handle of Gaza Ware. Ottoman period No ref. given
Note:
This artefact has two contradictory itemizations
.
(NVFR pp.74, 75.) See discussion.
41:34 fragment of a cooking jug w/perforated strainer
Late I CE–III CE No ref. given
42:6 "jar" [diagram shows a rectangular shard of neck]
"ca. 50 BC–AD 70"
Vague.
No ref. given
Note:
With artefacts from Nazareth provocatively dated to 'the time of Christ' (as this shard), one expects a maximum in corroboration and authentication (reference, description, diagram, discussion). It is a surprise, then, that we here encounter one of the shortest entries in Rapuano's report. It curtly reads: "Fig. 42:6 is a jar dating to ca. 50 BC–AD 70." No typological reference is given. The reader is left to rely solely on the archaeologist's opinion regarding this shard and, presumably, also for the existence of Nazareth at the turn of the era.
42:4 Deep bowl. No date provided No ref. given
42:5 Closed-form bowl w/incurved rim
"probably"
I CE–IV CE No ref. given
42:7 handle with deep grooves
Suggested
III CE–V CE
Uncertain.
No ref. given
42:8
"evidentlv
the body and base of
a piriform unguentarium." End I BCE–end I CE
Uncertain.
No ref. given
43:3 krater (or: Small bowl wlcupped rim)
End-I CE to mid-III CE No ref. given
Note:
This artefact has two contradictory itemizations
.
(NVFR p. 77.) See discussion.
43:5 Upper part of hemispherical bowl wired glaze.
Possibly
Ottoman
Uncertain.
No ref. given
C31Ll4: I and 43:6 Two bowls wired glaze.
Possibly
Ottoman
Uncertain.
No ref. given
43:8 Interior glaze. Perhaps base of 43:5.
Possibly
Otteman
Uncertain.
No ref. given
43:9 Rim & neck of typical N. Israel storage jar
"Possibly"
Ill
CE–V CE
Uncertain.
No ref. given
43:10 Storage jar. "Parallels date II–V CE." No ref. given
43: 11 Storage jar w/short upright rim
"may"
date I CE to III CE
Uncertain.
No ref. given
43: 12 Shoulder of storage jar
"probably"
Byzantine
Uncertain.
No ref. given
43: 13 Juglet,
"probably"
mid-I CE to beginning of III CE
Uncertain.
No ref. given
43:14 rim and neck of jug orjuglet,
"probably"
late I CE through III CE
Uncertain.
No ref. given
43:15 rim and neck of juglet,
"possibly"
l CE to beginning II CE
Uncertain.
No ref. given
In addition, numerous undrawn and un-itemized sherds were dated by Rapuano vaguely to the "Roman period" (B21L5, L7, etc.) and "early Roman" period (C3/ L4, p. 77). He also mentions an undrawn shard (C3/L2, p. 77)
"evidently .
.. Hellenistic to Early Roman." All these un-itemized artefacts cannot be admitted into the evidentiary data base, for there is no verifiable record of their nature nor even of their existence. They are the archaeological equivalent of rumor or, in some cases, innuendo. It may be noted that Rapuanos hesitation is scarcely limited to these unnumbered shards, as we see from the frequency of the word "uncertain" above.
Diagnostic artefacts
In the following fifteen cases Rapuano offers a typological reference, almost always to the same source: D. Adan-Bayewitz,
Common Pottery in Roman Palestine
(1993, 3vols., Bar Han—referred to below as “AB”). As mentioned in the discussion, in every case the dating range furnished by AB is commensurate with a post-70 CE beginning for Nazareth.
Area Fig. Description AB Reference and date
A1/L10 37:3,4 Two everted-rim bowls AB 111–119
"
evidently
both of the earlier type”
[?] mid–I BCE to mid–II CE
(R's early dating is uncertain and unsubstantiated. These bowls are probably commensurate with the remainder of evidence from Nazareth, i.e. 70 CE+.)
A2/Ll 38: 1 Galilean bowl AB Type IA
w/single groove on rim "later I CE–III CE"
A2/Ll 38:2 Galilean bowl AB Type lB
w/double groove on rim "later I or II CE to mid-IV CE"
A3/Ll 39: I Galilean bowl w/simple rim AB Type IE
"mid-III CE to early V CE”
A3/Ll 39:2 Storage jar [Ref: Meyers-Meyers-Strange 1976:220–222]
w/inverted-everted rim "III CE to V CE"
B2/L3l 41:4 bowl w/plain rim AB Type IE
"mid-III CE to early V CE"
Note:
This artefact has two contradictory itemizations
.
(NVFR pp. 73, 75.) See discussion.
B2/L31 41:5 "very small fragment" of bowl ` "evidently AB Type lB"
"later I or II CE to mid- IV CE"
B2/L36 41:2 "likely an everted-rim bowl" AB Type 3
"I CE–IV CE"
B2/F6 41:7 "Galilean bowl with two grooves" AB Type lB
"later I or II CE to mid-IV CE"
B2/L43 41:8 very fragmentary edge of rim AB Type 1 E
"mid-III CE to early V CE"
Cl/LI 42: I Galilean bowl w/2 grooves on rim AB Type ID
"late I or early II CE to mid- IV CE"
42:2 Galilean bowl AB Type lB
"later I or II CE to mid-IV CE"
C3/L5 43:1 Galilean bowl AB Type IE
"mid:-III CE to early V CE"
C3/L2 43:2 Galilean bowl w/2 groves in rim AB Type ID
